For a variety of reasons, medical practitioners often need to hold the tongue of a patient either in a fixed position or must manipulate the tongue to facilitate access to a portion of the oral cavity. Additionally, it is known that sonorous respiration (snoring) occurs while breathing through the mouth during sleep when the tongue partially blocks the airway. Thus, one way to cure or mitigate snoring is to hold the tongue in a forward position, whereby airway blockage cannot occur. Although generally merely an annoyance to those other than the person snoring, it is known that in certain instances airway blockage will become complete resulting in apnea, i.e., a cutting off of the air supply to the lungs and thus decreasing the amount of oxygen carried by the blood to the brain. Sleep apnea can cause disruptive sleep patterns, resulting in chronic fatigue, and can cumulatively cause brain damage. Therefore, for many patients, reducing or eliminating snoring is a serious matter.
Many types of tongue holding devices are known. For example, metallic or hard plastic clips are disclosed in the art, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,967--Dror and U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,094--Crook. However, these devices risk pain and injury to the tongue, and are particularly unsuited to self-administration. A less traumatic device designed for self-administration and for extended periods of use (i.e., overnight) is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,169,473 and 4,304,277, both to Samelson. The device disclosed in the Samelson patents evacuates air from a tongue holder and uses an imperforate structure in a device that is positioned by holding both dental arches in a locked position. Such a device, however, is detrimental to the normal bite relationship of the dental arches since it distorts the relationship of the upper and lower jaws.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,724--Wirt discloses a tongue receptacle having a rearwardly converging configuration into which the tip of the tongue is wedged. However, the device disclosed in the Wirt patent causes pain, swelling and edema by concentrating an applied vacuum to a small area of the tip of the tongue. Furthermore, the requirement for an attachment to a vacuum-producing device such as the disclosed elastically contractible bellows is cumbersome and annoying to a sleeping user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,240--Gardy proposes a device that engages either the teeth or the gum arches to anchor the device in position. The tongue is received in a vacuum chamber and displaces the air therein. The tongue is sealed in the chamber by internal sealing ridges located on the inside of the vacuum chamber.
There remains, however, a need for a simple and reliable device that can comfortably restrain the tongue in a predetermined position. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a simple, compact means for creating vacuum to hold the tongue which does not encumber the subject using the device. It is another object of this invention to prevent undue discomfort to the subject by providing means whereby a vacuum is applied to cause the device to sealingly engage a large portion of the tongue and in which the seal is designed to prevent inadvertent loss of vacuum through normal tongue movements, contractions and contortions, even during sleep. It is further desired that these features acting alone or together permit a decrease in the vacuum required to hold the tongue securely in the device, thereby decreasing the discomfort associated with use of the device.